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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29458449">You Give Me Hope</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aikawahanako/pseuds/aikawahanako'>aikawahanako</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different Mastermind (Dangan Ronpa), Am I Capable Of Slow Burn?, Canon-Typical Violence, Chabashira Tenko - Freeform, F/F, Female Reader, Hurt/Comfort, I am so Stupid, Incredibly Specific References, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, Reader-Insert, Requires Knowledge of Canon, Self-Indulgent, Tsumugi is a lesbian, kind of?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:47:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,153</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29458449</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aikawahanako/pseuds/aikawahanako</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything feels like... no, everything <i>is</i> crashing down at once.</p><p>It seems that someone has your back, though.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Shirogane Tsumugi &amp; Reader, Shirogane Tsumugi/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Promise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Anyone who knows me knows that I am desperately, violently in love with the Ultimate  Cosplayer. However, I don’t really like Shirogane’s talent — I’ve edited it to be the Ultimate Seamstress.</p><p>This fic is set in Hope’s Peak with the V3 students in attendance.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everything feels like … no, everything <i>has</i> come crashing down at once.</p><p>    Any explanation provided about your current situation seems to either cloud everything or send you into a spiral. Every laugh from that stupid… <i> bear </i>(<i>pupupu, pupupu</i>!) makes you feel more and more nauseated. Your fingernails dig into your scalp as you clutch your head, kneeling on the ground. Your ears were ringing endlessly. <i>This can’t be real!</i> turns into <i>Nobody here could kill another person!</i> and then <i>I might as well be dead already!</i></p><p>    Hot tears roll down your cheeks, your body frozen. Then, suddenly, a hand on your back.</p><p>    “Sorry to touch you,” a girlish voice whispers, breaking the chaotic soup of fear filling up your head. “But, um… here, I’ll help you stand up.”</p><p>    It takes you a second to register anything she just said on a conscious level, but you feel yourself take her hand and lean on her. Despite her size, she doesn’t seem to so much as exhale when you put your weight on her. </p><p>    The sensation of another person grounds you. Even though it confirms this nightmare, her presence is comforting. Someone else is… willing to help you.</p><p>    The girl — you’re sure of her gender now, beginning to connect to the world around you as your panic subsides — leads you over to a chair in the corner of the room, away from the other students radiating the same fearful energy as you. Your breathing steadies, your pulse calms. How is your… well, saviour, still functioning?</p><p>    <i>“Can you hear me?”</i> she asks softly. She’s not quite looking at you, her stormy grey-blue eyes darting from your face to the floor to your hand. She squeezes it softly.</p><p>    You nod, sucking in your lips with a sniff. She pulls a plain, white handkerchief from her pocket, folding it into a sort of trianglular peak.</p><p>    “I’m going to touch you, okay?” She whispers again. “If you want me to stop, just let me know.”</p><p>    She’s polite and caring as she runs the handkerchief across your cheeks, drying your tears. She presses a single finger underneath your chin, lifting your head slightly. Her skin is cool, soft. The moment is silent, simple. </p><p>    “Are you feeling any better?” she asks, stepping back from you and letting go of your hand. You feel like you dropped something, like something is missing without it there.</p><p>    Your voice is choked, but you manage an almost inaudible “yes”.</p><p>    She smiles nearly imperceptibly, and sits back in front of you on the floor. “My name is Shirogane Tsumugi. It’s, um, nice to meet you.”</p><p>    Letting out a breath like a laugh, you brush off your skirt. “Y-You too,” you stutter. “Thank you.”</p><p>    “No need to thank me,” she says, folding her hands in her lap. “Helping you helped me calm down, too.”</p><p>    “Well, I’m glad that… that at least one good thing has come of this so far. What was your name again?”</p><p>    “Shirogane Tsumugi,” the girl repeats. “The Ultimate Seamstress. And you?”</p><p>    You blink, wide-eyed. “I almost forgot about the Ultimate talents for a second. It’s all so…” you struggle for the words.</p><p>    “Discombobulating?” Shirogane offers. You nod.</p><p>    “I don’t even know. I’m… a little numb, right now.”</p><p>    “Oh, I’m so sorry!” she bows her head slightly, a strand of blue hair falling in front of her eyes. A deep blue, like the middle of the ocean. Straight as the horizon. She quickly pushes it back. “I didn’t mean to—”</p><p>    You look away quickly. “No, no, it’s fine.” </p><p>    There is an awkward pause before you remember to introduce yourself.</p><p>    “The Ultimate Lucky Student,” she says, resting her chin in her hand, tilting her head. “A little ironic.”</p><p>    You sigh, running your fingers through your hair, fixing up what you messed up before as you do. “I hope my ‘luck’ keeps me alive.”</p><p>    Shirogane sets her face. “I promise I’ll do my best to protect all of us. Especially you!” she makes a fist. Her hand is small, and her nails are well cared for — it’s not very intimidating, but it does give you a spark of Hope.</p><p>    “I promise the same thing,” you reply with a determined smile.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Ultimate Lucky Student</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shirogane comes to the rescue during early introductions.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s late at night when you’re sitting in the cafeteria. You rest your head on the cold plastic of the table. Your eyelids are heavy, but sleep is impossible after today’s events. Everything already feels like a nightmare, anyway.</p><p>You run over today’s events in your head. The meeting in the gym, Shirogane-san’s emotional rescue, and what followed: an emergency meeting. Though, any kind of meeting here should count as an emergency meeting.</p><p>Every student had quickly agreed to split up and explore their new prison in hopes of finding some sort of exit, to no avail. <i>Of course not,</i> you thought. <i>It would never be that simple.</i></p><p>After all your “classmates” had reconvened empty-handed, the mood dropped even more. Despair hung thick around the group like low, freezing fog. Everyone was quiet, unsure of what to say. One girl managed to speak up: Akamatsu Kaede, the Ultimate Pianist. She brought up the idea to officially introduce everyone to each other.</p><p>Fifteen other students to get to know. You don’t want to call them your “classmates” let alone “students”, but “prisoners” is just… well… not the most hopeful word. Maybe you can use “friends” after you get to know a few more of them.</p><p>Almost everyone present had some sort of themed item marking their talent. Akamatsu —  the Pianist — who taken the leadership role, had her hair pinned back with clef-themed barrettes. Hoshi Ryouma, the Ultimate Tennis Pro, had rackets printed on to his beanie. He stood next to Gokuhara Gonta, who dwarfed Hoshi, held some form of bug containing apparatus marking him as the Ultimate Entomologist. The Ultimate Artist, Yonaga Angie, had a belt holding paint brushes the way a soldier would store weapons and ammunition. One by one, each student introduced themselves. Ultimate Anthropologist Shinguuji Korekiyo, Ultimate Maid Tojo Kirumi, Ultimate “Supreme Leader” Kokichi Ouma and Ultimate “Child Caregiver” Harukawa Maki (though they sport no markings and seem … <i>less stereotypical</i> in appearance and disposition when it comes to their talents), Ultimate Inventor Iruma Miu, Ultimate Mage Yumeno Himiko, Ultimate Astronaut Momota Kaito, Ultimate Detective Saihara Shuichi, Ultimate Robot K1-B0, Ultimate Aikido Master Chabashira Tenko, and of course… Ultimate Seamstress Shirogane Tsumugi.</p><p>When it’s finally your turn to introduce yourself, you stumble and trip over your words. “It’s really not impressive, I—”</p><p>Shirogane comes to your rescue. “She’s the Ultimate Lucky Student. She was supposed to be lucky enough to join a school with Ultimate talents to learn like us.”</p><p>The group seems awkward about it at first, but the Inventor — Iruma? — bursts out laughing. “How fucking stupid is that? Ultimate Lucky Student, holy shit! Can you imagine that?”</p><p>Soon your classmates are cracking wise and smiling. Shirogane winks at you, and you find yourself smiling, too.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the short chapter! Longer ones coming. Had a surgery today so I’m not sure if this is my best work since I wrote it mostly under anesthesia, but it’s funny either way.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Bloody Headache</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rule breaking, what’s hopefully <i>not</i> a concussion, and an appearance from Gonta.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Note: Brief mention of almost-vomiting, somebody dies.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>Blood. So much blood. Like nothing you’d seen before, even in horror movies. It’s a warning, loud and clear. Chabashira Tenko, the Ultimate Aikido Master, was skewered completely after attempting to attack Monokuma. It was pink, pink everywhere: staining the spikes pushed straight through her, her face, her uniform — you felt sick again. You clasped your hand over your mouth to hold back bile, letting out a silent scream. Then, everything went black.</i>
</p><p>You wake up in your dorm room, lying on your bed. You explored it earlier when looking for a way out of this hell, but it was nothing but a bland place to sleep in (if you managed to get any sleep). Something about this is different, though… how did you even get here? “Hello?” you ask nervously, too afraid to move.</p><p>A soft “oh!” from a familiar voice relaxes you. Looking around, you see Shirogane Tsumugi again. She gives you a gentle wave and walks over to you, carrying a towel and a glass of water. She sits down on the edge of the bed next to you. “It’s okay, you’re fine. You just passed out.”</p><p>You sit up slightly for a moment, but your head begins to throb immediately. You lay back with a groan. “What happened to my head?”</p><p>“Well, you fell over…” Shirogane says, placing the towel against your forehead. It’s damp and cool. “Nobody here is a doctor, but you don’t look too bad.”</p><p>You squint, the bright light of the room seeming to pulse at you. You roll over, nestling your face in your elbow with a deep moan. “Where the hell am I?”</p><p>“My dormitory. I believe they all look the same. Gonta and Kibo helped carry you here,” she says, dimming the lights. “I have some water here if you’d like it.”</p><p>You thank her, taking a sip. “Which ones are Gonta and Kibo? I’ll have to thank them later.”</p><p>“Gokuhara Gonta, the Ultimate Entomologist, and K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot. They’re both very sweet,” she says, sitting down. “Gonta was worried sick about you. He’s kind, despite his size. He must have come back here to check on you three or four times, and you’ve only been in here about an hour.”</p><p>As if on cue, there is a knock at the door. You pull your face from your elbow, rubbing your eyes. Shirogane-san opens the door to reveal the hulking high schooler. He hits his head on the doorframe with an “oof”.</p><p>“Gonta head hurt too,” he laughs. His smile is full of sunshine, spread from cheek to cheek. His ruby-toned eyes light up behind his glasses, which are partially tangled in his mess of green hair. He’s dressed smartly in a ill-fitting dark brown sports coat, contrasting his lack of shoes. </p><p>You grin back at him. “Hi, Gokuhara-san,” you wave. The pain is slowly subsiding, and it’s nice to be around someone new. Gonta radiates such a happy, friendly energy.</p><p>“You call Gonta Gonta,” he says, slowly moving closer. “Gonta friends with Ultimate Lucky Student.”</p><p>“Alright, Gonta-san. You can call me my name, too. It’s only fair,” you say, taking deep breaths to help ground you. You remove the towel from your head as well, your strength returning somewhat.</p><p>“Gonta is gentleman,” he says, shaking his head. “Gentleman not call girl name.”</p><p>“Well, I’m saying you can, okay?” you move to sit on the edge of the bed to stand, finding yourself wobbly.</p><p>“O.K.,” he nods, his huge green mane twisting with the movement. “Gonta help you stand?”</p><p>He takes your hand delicately as if it were the wing of a butterfly, and you move forward with him. You stumble only once, and Gonta’s support keeps you standing. You relax into yourself, the pain slowly subsiding. “Thank you, Gonta.”</p><p>Gonta nods again, simple expressions to match his simple words. “Gonta hope you feel better. Gonta done checking on you.” </p><p>“Thank you, Gonta,” Shirogane waves as he leaves, and flinches when he shuts the door a little too hard.</p><p>“GONTA SORRY!” you hear through the door, and laugh. </p><p>Shirogane glances your way. “How’s your head?” she asks, refilling your glass of water. </p><p>“It’s alright. Thanks again for the help. I’ll have to talk to K1-B0 later,” you sigh. “Hopefully everyone here is as helpful as you.”</p><p>Shirogane-san beams again. Her smile is full of the same sunshine Gonta had when he looked at you. It was different somehow, though. Not just because it was… well, <i>less intense</i> then the entomologist’s… it just holds something else.</p><p>You take the glass from her and sit down at a circular wooden table provided in each dormitory, finally getting a good look at your surroundings. Her room is dissimilar from yours on all fronts except layout — it’s littered with bolts of fabric, a sewing machine, dress forms and slightly unsettling set of mannequins. “I hope we have enough free time for you to actually work in here.”</p><p>Shirogane tucks a bit of hair behind her ear only for it to immediately fall forward. “All we can do is hope. It’s plain to see that nothing here is normal by any stretch of the imagination.”</p><p>“My imagination is already stretched pretty far. This still feels like one big nightmare I can’t wake up from.”</p><p>She nods, placing her hand on top of yours. “I don’t know what to say to you. I just Hope we live. Even if we don’t escape…” her eyes water, and she looks quickly away. “I Hope we live.”</p><p>You squeeze her hand, and finish your glass. “I Hope so, too. I… I think I should go back to my room. Thank you again, Shirogane-san.”</p><p>“You can stop thanking me already,” she says, looking back up at you. “And… you can call me Tsumugi. Just Tsumugi.”</p><p>“Okay,” you stand, letting go over hand and going to the door. You turn the knob slowly. “<i>Tsumugi.</i>”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Surgery successful! Probably bedridden for a bit, so I’m thinking up ideas for the next chapters.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A/N</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A note.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Completely restarting this fic separately with (hopefully) better writing and a better plan.</p>
  </div></div>
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